Chandigarh, Dec 15: Punjab’s power subsidy default has surged past ₹10,000 crore, putting the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) under severe financial stress, officials said.
For the 2025-26 fiscal year, PSPCL raised a subsidy bill of ₹14,700 crore, of which the state government has released roughly ₹8,700 crore, leaving ₹6,000 crore unpaid. On top of this, two legacy instalments — ₹2,289 crore due by March 2025 and ₹1,804 crore for the current fiscal — remain unsettled, pushing the total subsidy-related arrears well beyond ₹10,000 crore.
The Punjab government provides free power to farmers, 300 units of free electricity to domestic consumers, and subsidised tariffs to industrial users. For the current year, it must deliver a total subsidy of ₹19,657 crore — ₹10,413 crore for agriculture, ₹6,589 crore for domestic consumers, and ₹2,384 crore for industry. The state is also grappling with a ₹4,000-crore legacy payment inherited from the previous government.
Officials at PSPCL said payments were regular until mid-year, but slower releases in recent months have affected summer power planning, energy banking, and routine development projects. “Prolonged defaults will increase operational stress and could eventually raise power costs for consumers,” an engineer warned.
A senior finance department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, acknowledged fiscal constraints were delaying subsidy releases. “For the past two years, we have released full subsidies and even cleared legacy dues. Last year and the current situation have made timely releases difficult. We expect some improvement in the coming weeks,” the official said.
